<a href="http://news.sjvc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Daniel-Ruiz1.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-553" title="Daniel Ruiz" src="http://news.sjvc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Daniel-Ruiz1-290x290.jpg" alt="" width="290" height="290" /></a>Daniel Ruiz had two primary goals when he enrolled in SJVC’s <a title="Respiratory Therapy" href="http://www.sjvc.edu/respiratory-therapy/">Respiratory Therapy </a>program on the Visalia campus almost 18-months ago:  Get straight A’s and have a job interview lined up by the time he graduated. Check. And check.

Not only did Daniel maintain a 4.0 GPA and make the Dean’s List each semester but, as his program comes to completion, he has already had two interviews with a Fresno hospital – and things are looking good for him to land his first position as a Respiratory Therapist.

“Hopefully, I’ll have a job right out of school,” says Daniel. “I hope I did well enough to get my first job.”

Daniel’s background in medicine put him in a good position to do well in the RT program. He had already graduated from CSUF with a BS degree and had been working in a physical therapy clinic for the last four years. He knew he wanted a position in the medical field that gave him more patient contact.

“I didn’t really know what Respiratory Therapy was all about until I started the program,” says Daniel. “I was just feeling a push to get deeper into the medical field,” he says. It turned out to be a good fit for him and a career that would provide the life he and his wife, A.J., wanted.

“A.J. really helped out by just being there and making life good,” he says.

Daniel kept his job for the first year while attending classes, but the Monday through Thursday schedule and commute from Fresno didn’t leave him much time. As it was, he cut it pretty close with a 6:55 AM wake-up and 7:05 AM exit from home to make the 8:00 AM class. A.J. was his greatest supporter and worked full-time to help make it happen

Their future looks bright with possibilities for Daniel to reach even higher.

“There are lots of opportunities down the road,” he says. “I want to start off by moving up the different levels of an RCP and later in my career possibly get into management, or some kind of teaching role to help the up-and-coming therapists; all of it appeals to me,” Daniel says.

After a pretty intense 18 months, Daniel’s goals are pretty simple. “I just want to start a career and make some money.”